WHO AM I?

I often wonder as to how many people really contemplate upon the reason of their existence in this world? How did we come into this world, what really happens to us after we die, and further, what regulates our life as living creatures ? There were so many such unanswered questions which used to run in my mind. I now finally feel complacent by realising that the answer to all my questions lies in my belief in the existence of “soul” in all living creatures.

Most often, all of us may believe in the soul, but many of us really wonder if the soul and body are the same. In reality, the soul is different from the body, in fact they are two distinct entities. Without the soul, there is no life. Everything that is alive including plants and animals have a soul. There is absolutely no difference between the soul of a human being, plant or an animal. The only difference really lies in the type of body that soul is in. The soul is eternal, and may go through billions of bodies. **

Now having said this, we must understand as to what is the function and attributes of each one of them. The nature of the soul is to know and see, it does not have any shape, size and structure. It is invisible and a sentient being. However, the body is made of non-soul elements that have defined shapes and sizes. Matter and all others are non-soul objects. Further, once we realise this fact, we can go a step further and conclude that a soul, which is a living being never transforms into a non-living being and a non-soul entity will never transform into a soul.

In this mundane world, this relation between the soul and body can be compared with that of water and milk, both of which though being blended with each other are yet, distinct and separate.

In fact, this difference between body and the soul can be well understood through the phenomenon of death. What happens when a human being or an animal dies? What is the difference between the body of a living being and a corpse? Well, after death, the body gets rid of the soul. The soul though does not die, it just takes a new birth in another body. Each soul constantly passes through countless such birth and death cycles unless it gets liberated. However, the body which is matter gets destroyed, deteriorated and dies, and hence, often burnt into ashes.

The famous Greek philosopher, Plato reaffirmed the existence of the soul that exists separately from the body. Plato’s famous student and philosopher, Aristotle also believed that although the soul is not a material object, the soul does not exist without a body and yet is not itself a kind of body.

So once we accept this truth, what should we really strive for?
Well , the physical body is just a container of flesh, blood and muck, bones and fats . It is an impure and a highly repulsive object. We may improve its external appearances by using the most expensive and well-researched products, which may make us look good from outside but even after infinite attempts to clean it all our life, it will remain impure. To make any attempt to purify it is worthless. Purity is within our soul and hence can be enhanced by our virtues. Therefore, by indulging in passions, sexual pleasures and anger, we make our soul impure, as these destroy the purity of our soul. Even while staying in the impure body, we must not forget the pure nature of our soul.

I am now in a position to now answer my basic question: Who am I? Different from body, mind, speech, delusion, attachment and aversion, ‘I’ am an everlasting, pure, eternally conscious being having perfect bliss and sentience, which is never changing.

'I' am an eternal indestructible element existing in all the three divisions of time i.e. past, present and future.

"Who am I ?" is indeed a matter of our awareness, and the answer to this question has to be received from our own inner realisation. It cannot be expressed in words or writings. Words and writings can only make indications about this supreme being, i.e the soul. They can point towards the direction, but cannot bring about its modification.

** This is also explained in detail in Jainism literature.

VEGETARIANISM: UNITING ALL RELIGIONS

Islam and Vegetarianism: Sounds quite a paradox?? Well, it is not necessarily so.

All religions which exist in this world today, are aimed at regulating wrong practices of individuals and leading them to a higher level of satisfaction to survive in this world. Hence, in my view no religion can propagate wrong ideas to its disciples. The only grey area lies in the way the followers have wrongly interpreted and manipulated religion to satiate their own selfish needs.

There is somehow an innate sense of security that creeps within individuals in following their culture blindly without getting to the root cause of how those principles had been laid down and brought across to our generations. It is indeed a matter of great surprise to me, that even educated people defy their logical sense while following religious practices. I don’t intend to hurt anyone’s religious views, I’m sorry, I can’t even do that as I am an ardent follower of my religion as well, but somehow I feel, we should really try to analyse as to why were these practices established at the first place and what were the circumstances surrounding the creation of rituals or traditions. By not understanding them and following them blindly, we would surely end up disrespecting the beliefs of our forefathers and become mindless of the ideas which they have expected us to pass down to our future generations.

I’m a staunch vegetarian and intend to propagate non-violence in its strictest sense. Cruelty towards animals for tantalising the taste buds or for adding classy and glitterati stuff in wardrobes is a strict no-no for me.

Though most factions of people agree vegetarianism as being the right practice and there is no denying to it, however certain people fail to accept it in the light of their religion. My understanding of eating habits followed in certain religions is as follows. Christianity allows any kind of meat. Islam allows meat of all vegetarian animals but no pork. Hinduism forbids killing of animals. The holy Guru Granth Sahib of Sikhs also forbids eating non-vegetarian food. Buddhism and Jainism preach non-violence in the strictest sense.


Accordingly, I have discussed about the concept of vegetarianism in Islam in detail which most of the people are often unaware of.

Islam:

I’ve been often asked by various Muslim friends as to how can we go against our Prophets teachings or Quran’s hadits. For all of them and for all other people who consider non-vegetarianism as a morally right practice, I want to enlighten them with certain interesting facts that have been pulled out of citations from the holy Quran, Prophet’s ideas and the perception of certain Muslims themselves, who are pro-actively vegetarians (and surprisingly have formed various communities of Muslim vegetarians, click here to follow the link http://www.islamveg.com/).

Even being quite specific in its sanction of animals for food, Islam provides a tremendous amount of support for the kind treatment of animals. Several surat illustrate the Qur'anic view of animals.

“There is not an animal (that lives) on the earth, nor a being that flies on its wings, but (forms part of) communities like you. Nothing have We omitted from the Book, and they (all) shall be gathered to their Lord in the end. (Sura 6:38)”

Seest thou not that it is Allah Whose praise all beings in the heavens and on earth do celebrate, and the birds (of the air) with wings outspread? Each one knows its own (mode of) prayer and praise, and Allah knows well all that they do.(Sura 22:41)

While these verses don't directly contradict the surat that justify animal use, they certainly propagate the cause of kindness towards animals. Animals then seem to have their own lives and purpose, valuable to themselves and to God above and beyond any material value they may provide to humanity.

Islam advocates compassion towards ALL beings (being explained in various hadiths, e.g. hadith about giving water to a dog and gaining a place in heaven, not being allowed to wear furs, etc).

Besides the holy Qur'an, there are other Islamic sources for messages of kindness towards animals. There is a rich tradition of the Prophets' concern for animals to be found in the Hadith and Sunna. One hadith quotes Muhammad as saying:

“A good deed done to an animal is as meritorious as a good deed done to a human being, while an act of cruelty to an animal is as bad as an act of cruelty to a human being."

Muhammad also condemned the beating of animals and forbade striking, branding, or marking them on the face. The Prophet cursed and chastised those who mistreat animals and gave praise to those who showed kindness.

I intend to ask my Muslim friends how can they reconcile with admonitions of Islam in today's world of meat production and consumption. Would Muhammad or the holy Qur'an be as approving of flesh eating in view of today's factory farms or in the abundance of non-meat food sources?

Today’s excessive consumerism is indeed damaging towards one’s health, which is also forbidden in Islam. The animals are slaughtered for the excessive demands in vile conditions, fed meat of others (makes them carnivores, that is forbidden to muslims), exported and treated very cruelly. The number of animals suffering from human violence is staggering - in 2003 alone the number of animals killed in the USA alone for food exceeded 10 billion animals. Secondly, the extent of the suffering and violence these animals have to endure is barbaric. Those who doubt this, I would encourage them to visit the killing floor of a slaughterhouse or take a ride on a train/truck/ship transporting the animals to their death. I bet these people would puke at the mere sight of the the ill treatment meted out t0 these animals. The abuse is indeed massive and gruesome; it pervades our society yet in general is completely hidden from our view. If the Prophet were alive today, would He allow such atrocities to be inflicted on these innocent animals ? All these practises are certainly UNISLAMIC and least, human.

Also, killing helpless animals during Id in the name of sacrifice is so foolish and mindless. If at all something needs to be sacrificed to Allah, it is the greed, ego, lust, hatred, jealous and other human weaknesses. Killing innocent and helpless animals who cannot vocalise their pains, would infact enrage Allah; it would certainly not make Him happy.


We should also bear in mind the fact that the Prophet lived in desert areas where vegetables were scarce and ate meat to stay alive. Islam is a universal religion for ALL people EVERYWHERE hence the reason why meat is not forbidden. People living in remote areas (e.g. Alaska) where vegetables are not abundant would starve if they didn’t eat meat (unless you consider that they can be imported which was not practical when Islam was originated around 1200 years before any industrial revolution). That the vegetables are available all round the year, was not a possibilty when Islam came into being.

I would also like to quote an article published in The Times of India which highlights the fact that Mughal Emperor Akbar had banned animal slaughter in Palitana, Gujarat. The empereor had even given up hunting and had become a vegetarian. Click on the picture to read further.

After thought:

Even after writing all this, I feel there is no need to go in depth of every religion separately as the preaching is the same in context of their compassion towards animals. It’s just that how an individual interprets the sayings. It’s not that an analysis is required every time. God has gifted a healthy brain to the mankind and everyone has the capability to generate their own perception as to whether the killing of living beings just for the sake of taste, pleasure and enjoyment is a sensible act.


Many non-vegetarian eaters argue that non-vegetarian diet contains high proteins which a vegetarian diet may not be able to provide. I would certainly say that it is a great delusion to suppose that flesh-meat of any kind is essential to health. Considerably, more than three-fourth part of the labour work in the world is done by men who are unable to make their ends meet; men who have never tasted anything but vegetable, farinaceous food, and that too of the simplest kind. There are more strength-producing properties in wholemeal flour, peas, beans, lentils, oatmeal, roots, and other vegetables of the same class, than there are beef or mutton, poultry or fish, or animal food of any description whatever. Further, we should not go against the rule of nature. As also proved by scientific analogies, human anatomy more strongly resembles that of plant-eating creatures.

Conclusion:

The millions of healthy vegetarians (who tend to outlive meat eaters) demonstrate that it is neither necessary nor desirable to eat meat. Besides, one will find good and bad people in all faiths. I do not want to be judgemental by describing the supremacy of one faith over another. But, what I want to convey is

let us stop being hypocrites. Let us not be selfish. Let us enlarge our domain of love and compassion to all the living creatures of this world. Let us not restrict ourselves to just human beings. Let us live and let live.

In a nutshell I would like to pen down my thoughts by a famous Chinese proverb;
“We eat to live; we should not live to eat.”

Disclaimer: The ideas expressed here are my personal views and opinions based on varied sources and are not intended to hurt the sentiments of any religious community.

UNIVERSE: A BASIC OVERVIEW

It is often understood by most of us that the universe was created by God or some supernatural power. For Hindus, it is Brahma, the creator, for Muslims, it is Allah, for Christians it is Jesus Christ. Even if we start to believe that God created the universe, it is not possible that there were different creators for different sets of people. Further, if we believe this, it brings us to the basic question, who created God ?

Logically, if we think, anything that has a beginning has a cause. Since, we cannot establish this cause even by the widest stretch of our imaginations, or even by delving deep into scientific theories, hence, it is safest to understand that when something has no beginning, it doesn't need a creator or a cause.

Thus, I now come to the basic understanding of the universe. The universe is made of six substances by nature. Nothing in the universe is ever destroyed or created, everything simply changes from one form to another. It is an uncreated entity which has always been in existence and shall always be, until perpetuity. It is regulated by cosmic laws and has kept going by its own energy processes, as also provided by modern scientific thinking.

Everything in the universe falls into one of the six categories of substances. These substances (which are a mass of infinite inseparable attributes) never perish, they only change their manifestations. All forms of substances are confined within the universe.

The categories of substances are:

Soul (जीव्)

The closest English word to jiva is 'soul'. The soul is:
· eternal and conscious
· made of some form of energy
· without physical form
· can be 'embodied'. An embodied ‘soul’ is given a form using things from the other five categories. A soul adapts its size to fill whatever body it is in.
· A pure soul is omniscient and totally blissful

Matter (पुद्गगल)

Pudgala is matter:
· the source of physical ‘matter’ i.e. those things which can be touched, tasted, seen and/or smelled
· The ‘matter’ is what gives the ‘soul’ the experience of pleasure and pain, birth and death
· the karma particles which stick to the soul are made out of ‘matter’

Ether (धर्म)

Dharma is the medium of motion:
· the substance that accompanies living or lifeless entities to move from one place to another.

Say for instance, when a fish swims in water, it is the water, that helps it to move, and hence, water for a fish, can be termed as ether.

Anti-ether (अधर्म)

Adharma is the medium of non-motion:
· the substance that accompanies living and non-living entities, when they stop movement and rest.

Space (आकाश)

Akasha is space:
· the substance which accommodates all other substances, it is formless, colourless and all pervasive (unlike theblue sky that we see above us)

Time (काल)

· Kala is the substance of time, which is a passive cause in the behaviour of self-functioning
substances of the world.

Soul is intrinsically an embodiment of knowing activity, totally different from soul, are all non-soul entities. Matter and others are all non-soul objects. Together the mass of these substances provide the physical structure of the universe.

The universe changes because of the interactions between these categories. These elements are eternal and indestructible, but their conditions change constantly, manifesting three characteristics: arising, stability, and falling away.

Every substance in this world manifests itself in different modifications of its own accord. The manifestations of the substances are their actions. These actions are called condition, change, modification or behaviour. Each substance is the creator of its own modifications. It does not at all need the cooperation of any other substance for these modifications. People not acquainted with the scheme of things, in vain, become unhappy with the desire of cooperation of others.

Thus, the crux of the structure of the universe lies in the following principles:

· Noone is a creator, preserver or destroyer of the Universe, and nor is capable of being one. Accordingly, we must not feel proud of being Doer, Enjoyer and Owner of the actions.
· Every living being (soul) has the potential to become God
· Conquer your desires by your own efforts and attain liberation otherwise, the souls wanders in this world (in different life forms) and faces sufferings continuously.